Visiting Jordan

Tour of Petra

Visiting Petra is one of the top things to do in Jordan. The ancient Nabatean city is known throughout the world for its stunning buildings carved into cliff walls and for the centuries it went unknown to the West.

Now Petra is open for tours throughout the year and can be visited in a number of different ways.

If you want to travel to Petra on your own, you can hire a local guide to show you around the ruins.

Alternately, you can take an organized tour to Petra through a tour operator or other organization.

One of the best Petra Tours is the night tour of Petra. The tour only operates on certain days, but it takes you through the ancient city on a candle light tour of Petra. It is a unique experience, and a good way to escape the heat if you are visiting Petra during the warmer months.

If you want to take a self guided tour of Petra, you can get a guidebook and a good map and take a tour of Petra by yourself. There are enough far flung sights to see in Petra that you could keep busy hiking in Petra for a few days.

Whatever kind of Petra tour you take in Jordan, make sure to wear good hiking shoes and bring plenty of water. There are restaurants and shops in Petra that sell food and water, but be sure to take more water with you if you go hiking out of the main areas.

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Driving to Petra

If you plan to visit Jordan and want to see destinations outside of Amman, it’s a good idea to hire a car at Amman airport when you arrive.

There are several car hire options at Amman airport. Avis and Europcar have offices in both terminals at Amman airport, while Hertz has an office a few kilometers from the airport (a Hertz representative will meet you when your flight arrives).

The cars have to be brought around to you from a remote lot, so the process takes 20 minutes or so from the time you get to the car hire desk in the arrivals hall of Amman airport.

As such, it’s a good idea to leave one person in your party to get your bags from baggage claim while another goes straight to the car hire desk to start the process.

If your flight lands late, the car hire offices in the airport may already be closed. If this is the case, you will see a sign in the window of the office telling you to call someone. That person will then come to help you, but it will take 20 – 30 minutes, so be patient.

When you return your rental car to Amman airport at the end of your holiday, you can pull up to the arrivals hall and park outside. Go inside and hand the keys to the person at the car hire desk, sign the requisite paperwork, and you’re done.

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Petra

Most people visiting Jordan need to obtain a Jordan visa to travel in the country.

The nice thing about Jordan visas is that they can be purchased on arrival.

Jordan visas cost 10 JOD for a single entry visa.

The visa is a physical stamp that is taped into your passport. After it is taped in, the stamp is then is then covered by two ink stamps.

When you get off your flight to Jordan, make your way to the customs area.

There will be a booth there where you can purchase a visa.

You can only pay for your Jordan visa in Jordanian dinars, not in any other currency or travellers cheques.

If you don’t already have some, you’ll need to change money at the desk next to the visa booth.

NB: Lines for Jordan visas can be very long and tend to move slowly.

If you can get JOD prior to your arrival and get from the plane to the visas area quickly, you will save yourself a lot of time.

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